True Life: I'm Black and I Think Green

Power Shift 09 first video!

2009-01-12T14:33:00.000-08:00

Power Shift 2009 Rise up and support your own Future!

Come to DC Feb. 27-March 2nd and join thousands of young people for three days of Massive action,live perfomances, rallies and lobbying for a clean and just energy economy. We have the Power to Save the World For Real!
To learn more and to register for Power Shift 2009 visit Powershift09.org!

This video was Created by organizer and artist extraordinaire, Desire Grover out of Chester, PA. For more info visit ghettoprint.com

Say NO to Dumb Decisions and YES! to Power Shift 09!

2009-01-12T13:26:00.000-08:00

Ever did something you completely regret? Like give yourself an at-home perm without reading the directions, or leave the car lights on too long? Well so has our country. For a while now we have been making some pretty dumb decisions. Decisions that will cost more than having to cut your hair or flag down a stranger for jumper cables. America's decision to ignore real solutions to climate change could cost us our planet.

Over 35 years ago people started getting electricity and heat from wind and solar. President Carter even put Solar Panels on the White House. Then all of a sudden America made a dumb decision and stopped supporting renewable technologies. Our denial of the great possibilities created by a Clean Renewable Energy Economy has led us to where we are today. America is the Biggest Contributor to Climate Change and Millions of people across the globe are dead because of Climate related natural disasters, famine and droughts. Plus thousands of Americans are in Debt, without jobs or anywhere to turn to for an answer.

BUT we do have the answer and By golly it's definitely not a dumb one!

Feb.27-March 2nd Thousands of Young people will take to the streets of DC together for three days and make sure our Government invests in our future and a Clean and Just Renewable Energy Economy! Power Shift 09 will be the largest youth Convergence on the Green Economy and Climate Change in US history. Three days of panels, workshops, eco-tours, live performances. Plus on March 2nd we will host a massive Rally and the largest Lobby day on Climate ever!

So if your tired of paying for other people's dumb decisions and you're ready for real change and a real POWER SHIFT then we need you! Register for Power Shift 09 today! LET'S GET THOSE SOLAR PANELS BACK UP ON THE WHITE HOUSE! Reclaim Our Futures and Our Planet!

For More information visit Powershift09.org. Reduced priced group registrations and travel scholarships are available for a limited time!

Check out the e-justice jam of the week

2008-11-30T17:33:00.000-08:00

This Winter, EJCC will be launching it's first ever climate justice mixtape. In order to prepare everyone for this massive banging ass album. I will be featuring a different eco focused jam.

This week: Save the Children by Marvin Gaye.

While everyone knows Marvin for Sexual healing and Mercy, Mercy Me (the ecology) this is another hit that will have your feet tapping and your mind thinking.

Next week: Something to address the current state of affairs ;)

The New EJCC.org

2008-11-30T00:20:00.000-08:00

Climate Justice the Time is Now! EJCC.ORG EJCC.ORG

The Environmental Justice and Climate Change Initiative has launched its new website.
Find information on How Communities around the nation are impacted by Climate change and Environmental toxins.

Also featured:

The EJCC Campus Program: Learn what other young folk of color are doing to green their campuses and their communities.

A Climate of Change: Did you know black people and other communities of color are and will be disporportionatally effected by climate change? Read the report and learn about what you can do now that will make a major difference tomorrow.

Coming soon: The EJCC Campus Toolkit and Mixtape!

Brower Youth award mini-doc on Kari Fulton

2008-11-29T12:29:00.000-08:00

On October 21, 2008, six young environmental leaders, including the one and only MsKGreen received the prestigious Brower Youth Award. The Award is given out once a year to outstanding leaders between the ages of 13 and 22. Click on the link to watch the video

New Leaders Initiative Presents: Kari Fulton

for more information visit broweryouthawards.org

Make a Powermove and PowerVote! (Powervote.org)

2008-09-12T17:59:00.000-07:00

So if you happened to notice, my earrings in the picture above say "Power Vote". What is Power Vote you ask? Well it is the hottest new campaign to hit the environmental movement in a while. Power vote is all about leveraging the power of the youth of North America (There's PowerVote Canada too!). The goal is to show our candidates that we care about our futures and we want to see an economy that cares about our futures as well.

What kind of economy would that be you ask? Well one that's based off of Clean and Renewable Energy such as wind and solar of course! Studies on Renewable energy show that it will create more jobs, reduces our dependence on foreign energy and saves millions of lives because we are not using dirty and polluting energy made from Coal and Oil.

Dang! That's alot and there's so much more. So I encourage everyone if they have not done so already to Sign the Pledge at Powervote.org!

Sign the pledge and let them know that the youth of North America are not only going to vote but we are also going to hold your leaders ACCOUNTABLE!

Powervote.org

Forty Acres and a Hybrid Cadillac....

2008-09-12T16:57:00.000-07:00

In June of 2007 someone asked me what I thought justice would be and I jokingly said 40 acres and a hybrid cadillac. Then the other day I got a call from a friend who told me that Cadillac had just put out a hybrid Escalade! (WHAH) okay, I was more than excited and immediately went to the website to check it out. I mean, I know I can't afford one on my salary but hey it's just one step closer to my personal dream of reparations.

What I found out though was a nightmare! Cadillac was trying to play its consumers (which we must admit is a lot of black and brown folk plus our grand parents) for fools. Although Cadillac is taking the first step towards greening their car line and now rappers, actors, ball players and grandmas will have a fly AND eco-friendly alternative, it still ain't no Prius. The Cadillac hybrid only gets 20 miles per gallon (Mpg). This is an upgrade compared to the 12mpg of a traditional Escalade but terrible when you compare it to the Toyota Prius which gets an estimated 48 mpg, or a regular engined Honda Civic Coupe which gets 36mpg.

The Hybrid Escalade might not be as bad on our environment as the original but it sure isn't doing much for the pocket book. So in my opinion. Wait it out on the hybrid Cadillac and purchase a bike instead. by the time we're all thousandiares they should have made it a little better. Maybe by then they'll even give me my forty acres too ;).

What's it Like to be Black and Think Green

2008-09-12T16:23:00.000-07:00

The Father of Environmental Justice, Dr. Robert D. Bullard once told me (as he says very often) that if you breathe this air, live on this earth and drink this water, than you are an environmentalist.” As the Campus Climate Challenge Coordinator for the Environmental Justice and Climate Change Initiative, I work on mobilizing students of color, specifically at HBCUs around environmental and Climate justice issues. Since last summer I have been going around the country sparking little fires of interest. From Morgan State in Baltimore to Grambling State in Louisiana, I have been on a mission. A mission to show my folk that yes you are an environmentalist and it is okay!

In all reality, People of Color invented going green (see: George Washington Carver or almost any indigenous people of Asia, the Americas or Africa). We also are avid energy conservationist. Almost every Black person in America has had someone in their family tell them to “turn that Da*n light off”. I remember getting chastised by my Granddad for hours about electricity, water bills and the price of paper towels. I also remember never eating store bought greens, eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, or jalapenos because my grandfather always made sure to grow them in our backyard every spring.

Since my granddad died in 2003, a new trendy slogan has risen to the top ranks of popular culture. That term is “Go green”. Everything from Toyota to America’s Next Top Model has promoted some sort of eco-friendly alternative to the common way of life. Unfortunately, when I speak with young folk of color, they just can’t relate. Maybe it is the advertising, the tree-hugging, or those ugly ass sustainable shoes. Or maybe it is the outrageous prices for even the simplest of energy-efficient products ($5 for a light bulb though?).Whatever it is, folk of color are giving it the stink eye and the yuck mouth. That is until they hear the reality of the situation, which is that communities of color cannot afford to not think green.

In the Redefining Progress and Congressional Black Caucus report, African-Americans and Climate Change: An unequal burden (2004), they found that 65 percent of African- Americans and 80 percent of Latino Americans live in 437 counties with substandard air-quality. We are also three-times more likely to be hospitalized for asthma and other respiratory illnesses. With global warming and climate change these numbers are supposed to increase something vicious.

From an economic standpoint, we need to bombard the government and our quirky tree-hugging friends with the question, “how much green will I lose going green?” Already, people of color spend an average of 20 percent more of our annual wages on energy based expenses (gas, electricity, etc.) If we are not at the table NOW ready to put the fear of God into these policy makers than we will be a day late and a dollar short from being able to even live. People of color are the voices that must be heard and loudly if we are going to create a new economy that is not only ecological but also economically friendly.With that being said, I would like to give a shout-out to all of my eco-tokens of color that I meet at every climate and environmental conference. Just want to let you know, You are definitely not alone.

Environmentally friendly people of color are a force stronger than any convenient, re-usable, eco-friendly box can hold. We are (among so many other things) hip-hop heads, “thugs”, student government leaders, fashionistas, church deacons, veterans and spades players. Even my own die-hard pork eating, slightly conservative, “Murder She Wrote” watching granddad is in this mix. But even though my Grandfather’s favorite color was green, he never ran around calling himself apart of the “green movement” or asking people to call him “greenpa”. Like many people of color, his practices were a part of his reality and his upbringing. Considering this, I am calling all of my people of color who see this as more than just a hybrid trend to let the world know, We are here, we are building, and we are so much more than what you bargained for.

Many Blessings,

MsKGreen.